Kawasaki of Mie Prefecture – A traditional water town

Ise might be rich in splendid shrines but one of my favourite places has to be Kawasaki. Kawasaki of Ise Mie Prefecture, not to get confused with the Kawasaki south of Tokyo, is an old residential area of Ise with a river that passed through it. This area is rich with traditional wooden houses. There is even an old building that used to work as a station for the river boats.

For me the thing I love so much about this was place the sense of nostalgia. My ancestral home on my mother side of the family in Thailand is also a traditional wooden house that sits next to a canal. People a long time ago in Asia mainly used boats as a mean of transportation rather than carriages. Therefore the rivers and the canals became a major highway for people in the old days.

Another beautiful thing about Kawsaki is that it is so quiet and residential. Unlike the Oharai street, another street with traditional old houses, this area is not packed with tourist. This gives a better sense of authenticity. You can really sit, enjoy and relax in this part of Ise.